A British political commentator who once urged Muslims to “celebrate the victory” after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 massacre in Israel was detained by U.S. authorities Sunday –  part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on foreign nationals accused of supporting terrorism.

Sami Hamdi, a London-based pundit with a history of inflammatory statements, was taken into custody at San Francisco International Airport shortly after arriving to headline a speaking tour organized by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the group confirmed Monday.

The Department of Homeland Security said Hamdi’s visa had been revoked and that he was being held in ICE custody pending removal.

“Under President Trump, those who support terrorism and undermine American national security will not be allowed to work or visit this country. It’s common sense,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin posted on X.

Hamdi’s detention follows mounting calls from lawmakers and national-security advocates to bar him from entering the country over his vocal praise of Hamas during and after the group’s deadly assault on Israel.

Just days after Hamas gunmen slaughtered 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped hundreds more, Hamdi addressed worshippers at a London mosque, telling them not to “pity” the Palestinians but to “celebrate the victory.”

“We are pitying a people who brought a huge victory since 1948,” Hamdi said in a speech captured on video. “Don’t pity them, they don’t want your pity. Celebrate the victory.”

He went further, reportedly asking the audience, “How many of you felt it in your hearts when you got the news that it happened? How many of you felt the euphoria? Allahu Akbar!”

Hamdi has also dismissed reports of violence against women committed by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 as “fabrications,” and accused Israel of orchestrating what he called a “genocide” in Gaza.

Hamdi was detained shortly after delivering a speech at CAIR’s annual gala in California and was scheduled to appear at another event in Florida. Federal officials reportedly intercepted him at SFO before he could board a connecting flight.

Trump administration officials privately described the move as part of a broader national-security review aimed at “foreign extremists using free-speech tours as cover for incitement.”

While DHS declined to specify the intelligence that triggered the visa revocation, one administration source said Hamdi’s online posts and speeches “met the threshold of glorifying terrorism under federal standards.”

Conservative activist Laura Loomer publicly claimed credit for alerting immigration authorities to Hamdi’s presence. “I demanded that federal authorities treat Hamdi as the major national security threat that he is,” she wrote on X, adding that she provided evidence of his “documented support for Islamic terrorism.”

CAIR — one of the nation’s most prominent Muslim-advocacy organizations — blasted the arrest, accusing the Trump administration of persecuting Hamdi for his criticism of Israel.

“Abducting a prominent British Muslim journalist and political commentator on a speaking tour in the United States because he dared to criticize the Israeli government’s genocide is a blatant affront to free speech,” the group said in a statement.

CAIR went further, calling the detention “an Israel First policy, not an America First policy,” and urged federal authorities to “immediately release” Hamdi.

The organization did not address Hamdi’s past comments praising Hamas or his claims denying the terror group’s documented atrocities.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)